Hello everyone. I apologize for my lack of activity recently. My VPN has been on the blink and for some reason it started working again today. Sometimes there is no explaining things. This is China so anything is possible. In any case, I have some additional advice for foreigners.
The visa laws have changed (again). It is currently more difficult to obtain a Z or "working visa" that it has been in the past. There is a lot more footwork and paper pushing involved now that there used to be. Let's go through the steps to obtaining a Z visa:
1. Extending your 30 day tourist visa. It now takes more than 30 days to obtain a Z visa so if you come here on a 30 day L or M visa, you will have to extend. This will cost anywhere form 700-940 RMB depending on the length of extension. 7-10 days
2. Obtaining your residency permit. This doesn't take long, only a couple of days of running about to the various police stations (starting at your local station and gradually moving up to the city's main station). It also involves getting a health check, but that should be done withing a week or two of arrival. 1-5 days
3. Obtaining a foreign expert certificate and registering online. There is an online registry for foreigners to register as "Foreign Experts." There is also some paperwork that has to be submitted to the government that will include your university transcripts, residency permit, and current visa information*. 7-14 days
4. After your visa has been extended, your residency has been established, and your foreign expert certificate has been approved and issued, then you have to send your paperwork off to the government again to obtain approval to seek a Z visa. This might take as much as 1 week. 4-7 days
5. After 5 weeks of running around and signing papers, you will get a letter and some additional paperwork in the mail that will tell you if you need to go to Hong Kong or not to obtain your Z visa. Usually you will have to go to Hong Kong, but in the past this was not always necessary. You will be a Hong Kong for a few days so be sure to bring enough money to live on. I suggest you pack for as much as a week. The trip should only take three or four days, but could take longer if there is problem with the paperwork (as often happens here). 7-10 days
*Please note that this only applies to teachers. If you are in China for other business, it will not apply to you unless your job requires a foreign expert certificate. Also please note that if you have worked previously in China under a foreign expert certificate, your old certificate will have be deactivated by your previous place of employment before the new one can be issued.
As is the case with so many things here in China, there is no "standard" experience. Much depends on the will and attitude of the person behind the desk that day. If they feel like being a pain, they will look for some minute detail in your papers that is not quite right (but has no bearing on the outcome of the process) and deny your application. You then have to start over again. That's life in China.
Good luck with the visa applications and hopefully the laws loosen up again soon so you don't have to go everywhere in person.
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